NACD is excited to announce that we have added a new keynote speaker to NACD's 2021 Annual Meeting!

Ebony Webber (pictured), chief operating officer for the National Society for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS), brings with her over 17 years of experience in developing young, minority students into future leaders.

Ms. Webber focuses on strategic partnerships and building collaborative teams, while driving innovation and growth at MANRRS through programs connecting students and professionals in academia, government, nonprofit and private industry.

Ms. Webber received her bachelors degree in computer science from Stillman College and holds a certificate in technology management and a masters degree in business administration, both from the University of Phoenix. Ms. Webber will give a keynote address during Monday's general session.

Due to the virtual nature of this year's annual meeting, we will be accepting Q&A submission through this form. Please be sure to fill out the form with the questions you may have and the speaker(s) to which the question is intended toward. We will share these questions with the speakers at the end of their presentation.

Registration for NACD's 2021 Annual Meeting, scheduled to be held virtually from Feb. 1-10, 2021, is now open! Registration costs only $50! Join us and celebrate NACD's 75th Anniversary by registering online today. This price will gain you access to both the business meetings from February 1-5 and the convention programming February 8-10. PLEASE NOTE: each registrant must have their own unique email address.

Check out the meeting agenda and breakout session descriptions on NACD's 2021 Annual Meeting hub. This is the platform we'll utilize to host the meeting and all of its related resources.

Be sure to subscribe to NACD's Annual Meeting email list to stay tuned for ongoing developments and upcoming speaker announcements. Please contact us at events@nacdnet.org if you have any questions.

Pending the finalization of funds from NRCS, NACD will again award up to 18 grants of no more than $50,000 to conservation districts in Fiscal Year 2021.

Interested applicants may review NACD’s new ArcGIS story map of previous grantees for project inspiration. Grantees in over 34 states have completed projects like targeting outreach programs to underrepresented smallholder farmers, conducting activities related to urban soil health, and partnering with schools to expand learning gardens.

“The Urban Agriculture Conservation (UAC) Grant Initiative provides a unique opportunity for conservation districts to build urban agriculture technical assistance capacity within the district staff,” said Ron Rohall, chair of the Urban and Community Resource Policy Group (RPG), which helps manage these grants. “UAC grantees serve nontraditional communities, build new partnerships and leverage new funding sources. I encourage every district official to visit the new story map, which showcases over 100 locally-led, grassroots-driven urban ag initiatives. These projects are providing technical assistance to communities from the most urban to the most rural."

Conservation districts may view the complete request for proposals (RFP) on the Urban Agriculture Conservation webpage. The online application portal is now open, with a deadline of 11:59 p.m. local time on Feb. 15, 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact NACD Pacific Region Representative Ariel Rivers at ariel-rivers@nacdnet.org.

Today, Michael Wilson of Allandale, Ill., was named this year’s recipient of the Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) Conservationist of the Year Award.

The 2020 Award was announced by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Acting Chief Kevin Norton during a virtual ceremony held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The CCA Conservationist of the Year Award annually recognizes a certified crop adviser who exhibits dedication to exceptional conservation delivery and customer service and has shown to be a leader in their industry.

“Mr. Wilson has made significant contributions to the agriculture industry through his experience and dedication to conservation,” said National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) CEO Jeremy Peters while presenting the award. “His work and achievements truly make him a leader of stewardship and soil health.”

“Admirably, Mr. Mike Wilson is a true example of NRCS’s mission of delivering conservation solutions so agricultural producers can protect our natural resources and feed a growing world,” said Acting Chief Norton. “It takes partners like those in agribusiness with an eye toward natural resource conservation to achieve our goals to increase the overall stewardship of our nation’s farming, ranching and forest landowners’ operations on private lands.”

To read the full press release, visit NACD's Newsroom. To view a recording of the award presentation, click here.

The Madison Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) in Madison, Fla., is promoting conservation stewardship and education while helping their local community celebrate the holiday season with a creative holiday tree display at this year’s "Light Up Madison" event.

At this annual event, which includes decorations, lights and a parade, local businesses and organizations purchase and decorate trees that are placed along the streets of downtown Madison. The Madison SWCD's tree proudly showcases—in miniature ornament form—their local 2020 Stewardship and Education (S&E) “Where Would We BEE Without Pollinators?”-themed poster and photo contest entries.

This is the third year Nancy Plank, the Madison SWCD’s staff assistant, has decorated the tree. The process involves shrinking and printing each poster and photo and dipping them all in clear wax to create waterproof ornaments for the tree. Along with a prize check and certificate, poster and photo contest winners are presented with their keepsake ornament. 

In 2019, together with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), NACD awarded funding through the Urban Agriculture Conservation (UAC) Grant Initiative to the Crawford County Conservation District (CCCD) in Arkansas to establish sustainable community agriculture practices and six pollinator installations within the area's parks, roads and schools.

The grant allowed CCCD, in partnership with neighboring Sebastian County Conservation District (CD), to provide seeds, plants and technical services for the planting of swaths of native pollinator habitat within a 10-acre section in a new park in Alma, as well as 7.5 acres of a major intersection of Interstate 40 and Highway 71 and portions of three parks in the city of Mulberry. Each planting site includes educational signage explaining the purpose of the installation and species identification.

Jeremy Prater, urban program coordinator with Sebastian County CD, reported that residents are especially interested in the butterfly garden aspect of the community gardens, noting that the program “[hopes] to leverage [the garden] into more perennial landscaping with native plants in the community.” To that end, CCCD was recently awarded a grant along with two other conservation districts to distribute 80 acres worth of native seeds to both small and large landowners.

Learn more about the project here.

Congressman David Scott of Georgia is slated to become the chairman of the committee, while Pennsylvania Congressman GT Thompson, who has previously served as the chairman of the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee, will become the new ranking member.

Lance Clark, formerly with the Conservation Districts Bureau at the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (MDNRC) created a Communications Audit, which answers the above questions and more, providing helpful guidance for conservation districts on creating a successful communications plan. From generating public affairs interest to boosting social media and email presence, you’ll learn how you can boost the effectiveness of your conservation district’s communications and online presence.

View the full document on NACD’s Members Only webpage.

Edition of The Resource

NACD's Fall 2020 Edition of The Resource is now available to view online.

You can browse past editions of The Resource on NACD's website.

Get your holiday shopping done at NACD's Marketplace with several new and customizable products we've recently added, which a special someone on your list will love.

We now have more Yeti products, including a tumbler (pictured above), rambler and half-gallon jugs. Additionally, Cabela’s has provided a folding pocket knife and polo shirts, which are both customizable with your logo of choice.

Platinum, diamond and gold level NACD members making a single purchase of $100 or more from the Marketplace can benefit from 20 percent, 15 percent and 10 percent discounts, respectively.

To learn more about NACD's membership incentives and levels of discounts, please visit NACD's Membership webpage or email us at stewardship@nacdnet.org.

NRCS Acting Chief Kevin Norton will host a virtual, open public listening session on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. If additional time is deemed necessary to hear all input, a second session will be held Friday, Dec. 18 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

To learn more and to attend the event, visit USDA's website.

The final webinar, scheduled for this Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, will dive deeper into some of the 2020 REPI Challenge winning projects. Learn more about how these projects are limiting incompatible development, enhancing military installation resilience, and relieving current and anticipated environmental restrictions on installations that host key capabilities identified in the National Defense Strategy. To learn more and register, visit DoD’s website.

To read the full story, visit NACD's blog.

Promote your conservation district or state association's tree sale, annual meeting, webinar, field day or more on NACD's Calendar of Events!